1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a container for the preparation of carbonated beverages, and more particularly pertains to a container enabling consumer or "at home" preparation of carbonated beverages having substantially the same palatability and effervescence as bottled or canned carbonated beverages. In greater detail, the present invention relates to a container designed to prepare a carbonated beverage from a solid carbonation source.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Attempts to commercialize point-of-consumption or at-home preparation of carbonated beverages in the prior art have not met with sustained success over the years. The principal shortcoming of the several techniques available in the art is that consumer-prepared carbonated beverages have been significantly inferior in one or more aspects to bottled or canned carbonated beverages available in stores and supermarkets. Common complaints leveled at carbonated beverages prepared by consumers are that the quality and quantity of the carbonation (the bubble size and duration of effervescence) do not compare favorably with commercially available, bottled carbonated beverages.
However, consumer preparation of carbonated beverages offers significant advantages over packaged liquid carbonated beverages for several reasons: the requirement for glass, metal or other bulky containers is avoided; the steps of bottling, shipping and storing carbonated beverages consisting of a major percentage of water are eliminated, and accordingly the utility in terms of portability to the user is greatly enhanced. Thus, housewifes, campers, backpackers, hunters, fishermen, outdoor spectators and travellers can enjoy a carbonated beverage without having to transport bulky and heavy quantities of canned or bottled drinks. Further, disposable or returnable cans and bottles would no longer be of major concern to environmentalists who have been seeking ways to conserve both the country's natural resources and beauty.
Dietzel et al. U.S. Pat. No. 1,967,553 discloses apparatus for carbonating a beverage by contacting a water-based liquid with dry ice to sublime the latter into a gaseous state while cooling and carbonating the liquid. The apparatus provides a separate dry ice receptacle positioned above a generating chamber containing the water-based liquid. In this arrangement, the dry ice is not contacted with the liquid in the generating chamber until after closure and sealing of the chamber to avoid the generation of any substantial quantity of gas until after the arrangement is closed and sealed. In use, the generating chamber is partially filled with water, and a charge of dry ice is introduced into the ice receptacle. The cover is closed and sealed, and the dry ice receptacle is then tipped on its side to empty the ice into the water, thereby carbonating and cooling the resultant beverage.
Wetstein U.S. Pat. No. 2,073,273 discloses apparatus for the preparation of a carbonated beverage wherein water and flavoring are placed in a small pressure vessel, and a metal cartridge containing carbon dioxide is inserted into the sealed vessel. The gas cartridge is then pierced, thereby injecting carbon dioxide into the water to form the carbonated beverage. The carbon dioxide further serves the function of pressurizing the vapor space above the liquid, causing the carbonated beverage to pass out of the vessel through a serving nozzle when an external valve is opened. This arrangement met with some limited measure of success in preparing unflavored and unsweetened carbonated water for home use, but the quality of the carbonation was not equivalent to that of bottled club soda.
The prior art includes a significant number of dry compositions for use in preparing carbonated beverages at home. In most of these compositions, sources of carbonate and acid are combined with sweeteners and a source of flavor so that upon addition of the composition to a glass of water, the "ingredients" react to yield carbon dioxide thereby resulting in carbonation of the beverage. Alther U.S. Pat. No. 2,603,569 discloses the carbonation of a citric acid-sucrose complex with a sodium bicarbonate-sucrose complex. Hughes U.S. Pat. No. 2,742,363 discloses the use of the combination of an alkali metal bicarbonate and a sulfonic acid ion exchange resin in its hydrogen form. Diller U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,851,359 and 2,953,459 disclose the combination of a highy soluble phosphate and a slowly soluble phosphate with an alkali metal or ammonium carbonate or bicarbonate to prolong the ebullition of the beverage. Mitchell et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,241,977 discloses chemical carbonation with citric, adipic or tartaric acid in a finely divided form, which are alleged to approximate the carbonation sensation of cola-type beverages sold in air-tight bottles or cans and produced by a saturated solution containing several volumes of carbon dioxide. Feldman et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,441,417 discloses a dry beverage composition adapted to be reconstituted with water to produce an effervescent beverage. The composition includes an essential carbonating ingredient, an organic compound having a carbonic acid anhydride group, capable of controlled hydrolysis in water to release carbon dioxide at a substantially uniform rate. Fritzberg et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,667,962 discloses a carbonation composition utilizing two distinct bodies formed from an aqueous solution of a saccharide, one containing an edible food acid and the other an edible bicarbonate. Upon addition to water, the two tablets dissolve quickly and react to produce carbon dioxide.
Many of the dry powder chemical mixtures have a common and acknowledged defect, an unpleasant taste in the beverage directly resulting from the components of the powder. Hughes U.S. Pat. No. 2,742,363 and Hovey U.S. Pat. No. 3,476,520 attempt to solve this problem by placing the chemicals in a container which is pervious to gas and water but impervious to solid reactants and byproducts. Barnes et al. U.S. Pat. No. 2,975,603 takes another approach by utilizing carbonated ice containing at least 25 milliliters of carbon dioxide per gram of ice as the source of carbonation. Sampson et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,888,998 and Whyte et al. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,992,493 and 4,025,655 and Liepa et al. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,007,134, 4,110,255 and 4,147,808 disclose various carbonation methods, compositions and devices whereby carbon dioxide containing molecular sieves are used to carbonate aqueous solutions.
Despite many attempts in the prior art to develop a system for the preparation of carbonated beverages in the home, none have succeeded in producing a carbonated product equal in flavor, taste, appearance, and quality and quantity of carbonation to commercially packaged, liquid carbonated beverages as are available in retail stores and supermarkets.